title: Implicit emotion regulation in the presence of threat: neural and autonomic correlates.
abstract: Efficient emotion regulation is essential for social interaction and functioning in human society and often happens without direct intention and conscious awareness. Cognitive labeling of stimuli based on certain characteristics has been assumed to represent an effective strategy of implicit emotional regulation whereas processing based on simple perceptual characteristics (e.g., matching) has not. Evidence exists that the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) might be of functional relevance during labeling by down-regulating limbic activity in the presence of threatening stimuli. However, it remained unclear whether this VLPFC activation was particularly specific to threat because previous studies focused exclusively on threatening stimuli. In the current study, 35 healthy participants labeled or matched both threatening and neutral pictures while undergoing 52-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Results showed increased VLPFC activation during labeling of threatening but not neutral pictures. No increase in prefrontal activation was detected during matching. Moreover, skin conductance increased equally for both valence conditions during initial phases of labeling whereas during matching stronger increases were found for threatening stimuli. Although a general inverse relationship between VLPFC function and skin conductance was not confirmed, both were negatively correlated during matching of threatening pictures in subjects with high state anxiety. It was concluded that the VLPFC plays an essential role during implicit emotion regulation. Further, even simple perceptual processing seems to engage regulatory top-down activation in anxious individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstrasse 15, 97080 Würzburg, Germany; Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Strasse 52, 48149 Münster, Germany. Electronic address: Sara.Tupak@uni-muenster.de.
authors.forename: Sara V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Tupak
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dresler
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guhn
authors.forename: Ann-Christine
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ehlis
authors.forename: Andreas J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Fallgatter
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pauli
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Herrmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins
keywords: Anxiety; Emotion regulation; Fear; Labeling; NIRS; VLPFC